What is the best zero-sugar soda?

Cola loyalists, root beer diehards and citrus drinkers each think their pick is the obvious one. Whatever wins here has to get past all three.

1

Coca-Cola Zero Sugar

Coke's sugar-free cola, reformulated to taste as close as possible to the original red-can recipe.

2

Pepsi Zero Sugar

PepsiCo's bolder, citrus-forward zero-calorie cola, sweetened with aspartame and ace-K.

3

Diet Coke

The 1982 original of the category, with its own lighter flavor profile rather than a copy of Coca-Cola.

4

Diet Pepsi

Pepsi's long-running diet cola, lighter and crisper than its zero-sugar sibling.

5

Dr Pepper Zero Sugar

The 23-flavor blend without the sugar, widely praised for tracking the original closely.

6

Diet Dr Pepper

The older diet version of Dr Pepper, marketed for years on tasting more like regular than diet.

7

Sprite Zero Sugar

Caffeine-free lemon-lime soda with no sugar, the top seller in the diet citrus aisle.

8

7UP Zero Sugar

Keurig Dr Pepper's sugar-free lemon-lime soda, often rated the least artificial-tasting diet citrus.

9

Mountain Dew Zero Sugar

The neon citrus soda without sugar, keeping the caffeine and the full-strength flavor.

10

Diet Mountain Dew

A cult favorite with a distinctly different bite from both regular Dew and the Zero Sugar version.

11

A&W Zero Sugar Root Beer

Creamy sugar-free root beer that regularly wins diet soda taste tests.

12

Barq's Zero Sugar Root Beer

The caffeine-free sugar-free version of the root beer known for its sharp bite.

13

Fanta Zero Sugar Orange

Sugar-free orange soda with the same bright, candy-sweet profile as the original.

14

Sunkist Zero Sugar Orange

Caffeinated orange soda without sugar, praised for a fresher citrus taste than most diet oranges.

15

Canada Dry Zero Sugar Ginger Ale

Sugar-free ginger ale that keeps the dry, gingery finish of the original mixer.

16

Starry Zero Sugar

Pepsi's newer lemon-lime brand in its sugar-free version, launched alongside Starry in 2023.

17

Zevia Cola

Stevia-sweetened cola with no artificial sweeteners, the flagship of the natural zero-sugar shelf.

18

Diet Rite Cola

The original sugar-free cola from 1958, still sold caffeine-free and sodium-free.